Senior Analyst (Inclusive Communities)

West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) is looking for a Senior Analyst (Public Service Innovation) to turn data into meaningful change across the West Midlands. This is a high-impact role at the heart of inclusive growth across homelessness, systems change and inclusion. You’ll combine strong analytical expertise with outstanding communication skills, translating complex data into clear, compelling insight for senior leaders. Working in a matrix environment, you’ll build trusted relationships across government, partners and communities to influence policy, drive collaboration and deliver real-world impact.

Interviews will take place on 18th May 2026.

Responsibilities

• Present, communicate and disseminate data appropriately and with influence and persuasion to a range of WMCA and external stakeholders using written, verbal and interactive visualisation tools, including communicating the limitations of data.
• Provide input and guidance to colleagues for the effective design and implementation of programme-specific outcomes and impact evaluation approaches.
• Encourage colleagues to embed good data capture practices into their own programmes to enable effective reuse and implementation of best practice.
• Champion social research across the West Midlands system to ensure the intelligence and analysis needs are met, including inclusive growth; diversity, equalities and inclusion; homelessness; environment; and other strategic priorities as required.
• Work flexibly and with integrity to meet the needs of the WMCA and the SENZ function.
• Listen to the needs of stakeholders, for instance, the Homelessness Taskforce and Race Equalities Taskforce, and interpret them into research and analytical questions.
• Host difficult conversations with diverse senior stakeholders, manage expectations of stakeholders as to what is achievable, and manage active and reactive communications as appropriate.
• Advocate good data governance and data management standards and guidelines in line with the hub-and-spoke approach to research, intelligence, analysis and data in the WMCA, working to continually communicate and improve data management practices, and supporting the use of common analytical approaches, toolsets and software.
• Where possible, automate data management activities and develop processes to enable good data management practices and compliance with data governance policies.
• Apply a range of methods to collate, analyse research, intelligence, analysis and data from a range of sources and synthesise findings relating to the Office for Public Service Innovation and Homelessness, effectively engaging colleagues with a range of views in appropriate use of data and evidence, advising on the choice and application of analytical approaches to assure best practice and by making complex contested information easy to understand for a range of stakeholders.
• Use data integration tools to integrate and store evidence from multiple sources, ensuring that data is of good quality and is interoperable with other data sets, enabling reuse.
• Lead and manage complex analytical projects using appropriate project management techniques.
• Oversee budget planning and resource allocation for programme delivery, ensuring value for money and alignment with funding conditions and appropriate financial management and governance processes.
• Support the development of blended finance approaches and investment-readiness initiatives to unlock social finance and grant opportunities, such as the pilot with Big Issue Invest.
• Create mechanisms for monitoring financial performance of funded initiatives, ensuring accountability and sustainability.
• Ensure Value for Money and follow the appropriate governance processes for dealing with any financial activities.

Essential Skills